"An opportunity?" Jiang Chen's eyes were cold as blades, fixed on the bald giant as if searing Gong Wuji's face into his memory.
"Heh, judging by the look in your eyes, you clearly have no intention of cherishing this opportunity." Gong Wuji shook his head with a sigh. "In that case — accept your judgment."
Jiang Chen burst out laughing. "So you don't want the Heaven-grade spiritual medicine? The Earth-grade spiritual medicine? The recipe for the Myriad Longevity Pill? And — you don't care to know the whereabouts of your Undying Heaven's mole, Lin Hai?"
At the mention of Lin Hai's name, Gong Wuji's expression turned dark in an instant.
Lin Hai was a chess piece Gong Wuji had cultivated and planted deep within the Sect of the Northern Abyss — one he had never activated. Hearing Jiang Chen suddenly bring up Lin Hai's name, how could Gong Wuji not be startled?
This piece had been buried so deep — how did this boy find out?
Truthfully, while Heaven-grade and Earth-grade spiritual medicine were enormously tempting, compared to the matter the Undying Heaven had pursued for a thousand years, even Heaven-grade spiritual medicine had to take a back seat.
"Boy, what exactly are you talking about? Who told you about Lin Hai?"
Jiang Chen decided to bluff outright. "Lin Hai's identity was exposed at the Grand Assembly of Myriad Manifestations — did anyone need to tell me? As the saying goes, the dog that bites doesn't bark. The Nine Yang Heavenly Sect is so flamboyant about it, but you of the Undying Heaven — truly insidious, scheming in the shadows. If that's the case, then the Crimson Cauldron Middle Domain has been under your control all along too, hasn't it?"
Seeing this, Jiang Chen had already pieced together his theory.
He had always believed the Nine Yang Heavenly Sect was the greatest threat to the Myriad Manifestations Domain. He never imagined that the Undying Heaven — which had always kept so low a profile — was the true mastermind behind everything.
Even the overbearing Crimson Cauldron Middle Domain was nothing more than a puppet of the Undying Heaven.
This was something even the Nine Yang Heavenly Sect hadn't foreseen.
Clearly, if Gong Wuji hadn't felt certain he could crush Jiang Chen and Huang'er, he never would have revealed his true identity.
The Nine Yang Heavenly Sect schemed in the open; the Undying Heaven operated in the shadows. Now it seemed that in the end, the Undying Heaven was one step ahead.
Gong Wuji smiled coldly. "You know quite a lot, boy. The Nine Yang Heavenly Sect? They fancied themselves clever, coming up with an Imperial Seal and a Dragon Seal of the Nation, trying to borrow a blade to kill. We merely played along with their scheme and went with the flow. Ha! The Crimson Cauldron Middle Domain crushes the Myriad Manifestations Domain, and the Nine Yang Heavenly Sect wants to play fair judge — could we of the Undying Heaven possibly let them have their way?"
Jiang Chen felt chills run down his spine. In an instant, he understood the entire chain of events.
He never would have guessed that the small Myriad Manifestations Domain could provoke such frenzied scheming from all sides.
The Nine Yang Heavenly Sect borrowed a blade — drawing the Crimson Cauldron Middle Domain to suppress the Myriad Manifestations Domain. Then the Nine Yang Heavenly Sect planned to step in as the righteous judge, seizing the opportunity to intervene.
Who would have thought that behind the Crimson Cauldron Middle Domain stood the Undying Heaven's hand?
This meant that the Nine Yang Heavenly Sect's scheme of borrowing a blade had merely given the Crimson Cauldron Middle Domain the chance to rise.
As for the Nine Yang Heavenly Sect playing the righteous judge — how could the Undying Heaven ever allow that to happen?
Between first-rate sects, the mutual checks and balances ultimately cancelled each other out.
Having understood all this, Jiang Chen was overwhelmed with boundless grief for the Myriad Manifestations Domain. The domain was entirely innocent — collateral damage, a bystander struck by stray fire.
The seeds of disaster for the Myriad Manifestations Domain had been planted the moment the Flying Feather Great Emperor fled into its borders.
And these repeated catastrophes were merely continuations of that original incident.
As for himself and the Dangian Palace — they had simply been swept along by the momentum of events, caught in the crossfire!
In that moment, Jiang Chen deeply grasped what it meant for the strong to prey on the weak. Everything was this cruel, this blunt.
The powerful could bend the world to their will; the powerless could only be slaughtered.
Jiang Chen suppressed the urge to deploy his palace-cave abode. He knew the restrictions on it had only enough power for one final strike.
If he used it here, then when it came time to rescue Gouyu and the others, this trump card would be gone.
So even though he was certain he could annihilate Gong Wuji and his men, he held the impulse in check.
This debt — he would settle it later, one score at a time.
Just then, a gray-robed subordinate hurried over and reported to Gong Wuji: "Lord Gong, there were two fat little lambs — we only caught one. The other had quick instincts and got away!"
Behind him, they pushed forward a prisoner — none other than Shen Qinghong.
Jiang Chen saw that Shen Qinghong had been captured again and was momentarily at a loss. But learning that Ling Bi'er had escaped, he felt a wave of relief.
Gong Wuji's expression darkened. "You let someone escape even like that?"
The gray-robed man stammered, "That girl seemed to have some kind of powerful Space Escape Talisman — I couldn't stop her. Truly bizarre."
Gong Wuji snorted coldly and waved a hand. "Useless lot — get out of my sight! If there's a next time, I won't mind teaching you a lesson you'll remember."
The sect master of the Thunderclap Sect stepped forward obsequiously. "Lord Gong, leave those two lambs to our Thunderclap Sect."
The sect master of the Giant Kun Sect hurried to add, "Lord Gong, my Giant Kun Sect is eager to serve!"
Gong Wuji nodded coldly. "Don't mess this up. I intend to deal with that True Dragon myself. Who would have thought — this Myriad Manifestations Domain actually harbors a True Dragon!"
Jiang Chen's brow furrowed slightly. He sent a voice transmission to Huang'er: "Miss Huang'er, I've dragged you into this. Follow me — I'll fight my way out, even if it costs me my life."
Huang'er shook her head gently and transmitted back, "Young Master Jiang, this is an Emperor Realm domain. Ordinary Space Escape Talismans likely won't break through. Let me try."